That’s when the Los Angeles Lakers coach – then a Lakers player – joined the Memphis Tigers’ coaching staff as an assistant. The lockout that delayed the start of the 2011-12 NBA season left Walton with a whole lot of free time, which he used to dip his toe into the coaching profession.

Walton and Pastner were teammates at Arizona, and Pastner later coached Walton during his days as an assistant there.

“It helped,” Walton said before Saturday’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies. “It kinda furthered my interest in the coaching world. I went back and played for a few years after that, but it was pretty evident to me after that that coaching was what I wanted to do when I got done playing.”

Walton’s Lakers took the floor at FedExForum just hours after the Tigers defeated UAB to move to 5-4.

“Go Tigers,” Walton said in front of a scrum of nearly 25 reporters. “They won today, right?”

Walton was also asked whether he’s got any familiarity with new Tigers coach, Penny Hardaway.

“Brian Shaw (the Lakers’ associate head coach) and Penny are very close,” he said. “Brian speaks very highly of him and what he does and the type of person and coach that he is.”

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Memphis guard Jeremiah Martin (middle) celebrates in the bench with this teammate during action against UAB at the FedExForum in Memphis, Tenn., Saturday December 8, 2018 Mark Weber, The Commercial Appeal